Outlook for Android, Plain and Simple

A. Microsoft released its Outlook for Android email app in 2015 with a focus on managing your inbox and scheduling your day. While the app can display formatting in messages you receive, you can compose messages on your device only in plain text — which means no bold, italic, underline or other typographical styling.

If you press and hold your finger on text in a message you are writing, you get the options to copy and a few other common commands. If you would like to suggest that Microsoft add more commands, you can send the company a request from within the Outlook app.

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Outlook for Android offers a few functions on the menu bar when you press the screen, but text formatting is not yet an option.CreditThe New York Times

On an Android device, open Outlook, tap the gear-shaped Settings icon on the main screen and select Help & Feedback. On the Help & Feedback screen, tap “Suggest a feature” and enter your comments. If you have other questions about using Outlook for Android, you can find a link to a set of frequently asked questions on the app’s main Help & Feedback screen. Microsoft also has a guide to setting up and using the app on its site.

While text formatting in new messages may still be limited, Microsoft announced this month that it had released a new set of add-in tools for the app. The add-ins — shortcuts to other programs that you can integrate with Outlook for Android to save a few steps — are available for several apps, including Evernote, Microsoft Translator, Smartsheet and Trello. To see what is available, tap the Settings icon on the main Outlook screen and choose Add-Ins.